Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Platypus delivers a classic side-scrolling shooter experience that feels both familiar and refreshingly unique. Players pilot the F-27 Platypus through a series of increasingly challenging environments, blasting enemy formations while avoiding waves of incoming fire. The controls are tight and responsive, making precise maneuvers—such as weaving through tight gaps and executing barrel rolls—a satisfying part of the core gameplay loop.

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Weapon upgrades play a central role in maintaining momentum and excitement. By destroying specific enemy formations, you unlock temporary power-ups that last for twenty seconds, dramatically altering your firepower. These upgrades range from wide-spreading shots to concentrated laser beams, requiring players to adapt their tactics on the fly as the clock ticks down. Timing and positioning become crucial as you juggle standard fire with these brief, but potent, enhancements.

The PSP version of Platypus builds on this solid foundation with additional worlds, ships, and enemies. These newly introduced elements are cleverly assembled from existing graphic assets, offering fresh movement patterns and attack formations. This expansion not only extends the playtime but also adds more strategic variety, ensuring that even veterans of the original release will need to rethink their approach.

Graphics

One of Platypus’s most striking features is its entirely clay-modeled aesthetic. Every spaceship, enemy craft, and background element was meticulously hand-sculpted, photographed, and then digitally colored. This painstaking process yields a visual style that stands out in a genre dominated by purely digital assets. The result is a tactile, almost tangible world where each enemy ship looks as though it has been molded by hand.

The four distinct worlds—each with its own theme—showcase the versatility of this clay art style. From industrial heights to organic cavernous depths, the game’s environments are rich in texture and detail. The lighting and color palettes shift dramatically between levels, ensuring that each new world feels fresh and visually engaging.

On the PSP, the graphical presentation remains faithful to the original but benefits from higher-resolution assets and smoother frame rates. This upgrade makes the clay textures pop even more on a portable screen, and the added clarity helps in spotting incoming projectiles and enemy movements. The enhanced visuals, coupled with vibrant color schemes, keep the action readable without sacrificing artistic charm.

Story

Platypus’s narrative premise is simple but effective: the sprawling metropolis of Collosatropolis has exhausted its resources and turns its gaze toward the neighboring land of Mungola. Seeing the Mungolans as an easy target, Collosatropolan leaders dispatch their single fighter squadron, the F-27 Platypus, to seize control. Though minimal, this backstory sets the stage for your high-flying campaign of dogfights and destruction.

What the storyline lacks in complexity, it makes up for in whimsical charm. The idea of an entire war hinging on one clay-modeled fighter squadron adds a lighthearted twist to the military trope. Brief mission intros and end-of-level text give just enough context to keep you invested without slowing down the action or overwhelming players with cutscenes.

In the PSP iteration, new missions and surviving mode scenarios expand the narrative framework subtly. While the core storyline remains unchanged, these additions provide fresh encounters that evoke the spirit of surprise and discovery—much like uncovering hidden chapters in a favorite book. Even long-time fans will appreciate these small but meaningful narrative touches.

Overall Experience

Overall, Platypus strikes an excellent balance between classic shooter mechanics and innovative presentation. Its handcrafted clay graphics offer a distinct visual identity that still holds up today, while the core gameplay loop of blasting enemies and grabbing weapon upgrades remains as addictive as ever. Twenty levels across four diverse worlds guarantee a solid playthrough time, and the gradual ramp-up in difficulty keeps players engaged.

The PSP version elevates the experience further with a save system, a new Survival mode, and Wi-Fi multiplayer for two players. These enhancements give you more reasons to revisit the game long after completing the main campaign. Cooperative battles and survival challenges add replay value, making Platypus not just a one-off nostalgia trip but a robust shooter package in its own right.

Whether you’re a retro shooter enthusiast or a newcomer seeking a fresh aesthetic twist in the genre, Platypus delivers. The combination of tight controls, strategic weapon upgrades, handcrafted visuals, and portable enhancements makes it a title worth considering. For anyone looking to blast through waves of clay-crafted enemies on the go, Platypus is an engaging and polished choice.

Retro Replay Score

7.1/10